Never not running. Never not travelling. Never not dreaming.

2 half marathons in 2 days in 2 countries Challenge – PART I

On Friday before “THE” crazy challenge weekend it was raining and the weather forecast said rain all weekend!

So the first thing that crossed all of our minds, when I picked up Ela and Jens at the train station, was: “whose bloody idea was this”?

Well, my friends… it was “my” idea… who else’s :)

Last year I signed up for the Berlin half marathon and then I thought that since I’m Czech and from Prague I should also sign up for the Prague half marathon. I looked up the dates and the race was only one day before the Berlin race. Hmm!

So what did I do? I booked it, of course!

And then I called Ela and Jens and asked them to join me for a 2 half marathons in 2 days in 2 countries challenge. And what did they say? Yes, of course!

Straight from the train station we went to pick up our start numbers, then had a pasta dinner with a little cheeky wine (not Jens because he is a proper sports men) and off we went to bed in the beautiful Nicholas Hotel which is on the footsteps of Charles bridge, short walk from the race starting line.

Before going to sleep, Ela and I started to seriously question ourselves, if we can actually do this crazy challenge. Jens didn’t question anything. He is a crazy sports men who runs ultra-marathons.

SATURDAY – RACE number 1

Prague Half Marathon, Czech Republic

The weather forecast said that it will be quite cold and possibly rainy so we started our day with a big debate about who wears what, which was followed by a little fight over the toilet (read: who will make it smelly first – I know… too much information… but if you are a runner, then you understand how IMPORTANT this matter is, especially before a race) and then… off to the start we went…

This is where the adrenalin and excitement kicks in!

We’re running the Prague Half Marathon! Yay!

We took off our hoodies, put bags in the storage area, took the last pre-race picture and went to look for our start corridors.

Couple of months ago Ela and I decided to run together during both of the races. We knew that we will not be trying to hit any PBs. We just want to run, chat, enjoy the atmosphere and share the happiness together.

And so we did!

And we both LOVED every minute of the race!

It is also very obvious from all the race pictures – we are both smiling like idiots on all of them :) The below picture is from km 17 where “our fans” a.k.a. my dad with his Petra and the lovely Tereza were standing and cheering for us! Thank you for coming!

On km 20 we sped up and then, the last 800 meters, we pretty much sprinted, trying to avoid collision with other people. We hit the finish line with time 2:09:26, very happy and not really tired. This was the plan!

We met up with Jens (who finished good 40 minutes before us) and went back to our hotel, showered and hurried to catch our train to Berlin. The trams were delayed (bloody half marathon, eh?!) so we didn’t have enough time and had to do a second sprint of the day, this time even faster, through the main train station full of people. But – we made it!

Note to self: read the train information correct and remember that Prague train station really does not have 15 platforms! Which means that next time you don’t need to run back and forth trying to locate platform 15 when your train is leaving in 1 minute.

And since we haven’t eaten… we had some food and beer (you have to have a beer after a race) on the train.

And guess what, on the train, we met an American Air Force Pilot Jeff who had the same crazy idea like us – 2 half marathons in 2 days in 2 countries. Whopeee! We are not the only weirdoes out there!

The 4,45 journey to Berlin went pretty fast (thanks to the beers) and we got to Berlin shortly after 9pm, ready for bed, and super excited about RACE number 2.

Both Ela and I were now sure that we CAN do this!!

Jens was sure from the beginning, but, as mentioned earlier, he is a crazy sportsmen who runs ultra-marathons so he doesn’t really count :)

Bring it on Berlin Half Marathon!

… TO BE CONTINUED…

Have you run the Prague Half Marathon? What was your experience?

Would you be up to our challenge and run two halves in two days in two countries?

P.S. When we got to Berlin, Jens noticed that I got the wrong medal!! I got a medal for the Prague Marathon which will take place in May!! How funny is that?! I received a medal for a race which hasn’t happened yet… :)

P.P.S. The weather was amazing during the whole race and I even had to perform a striptease and swap my t-shirts around and run in a bra for a while.

P.P.P.S. My running body and friend Honza and my friend Robert were also running (both with great results, well done, boys) but unfortunately we didn’t manage to see each other on the day. BooHoo!

Awesome job!! Running 2 half marathons in 2 days in 2 countries seems like a crazy fun idea. My brother wants me to run with him next year so I might have to tell him this is how I want to do it, maybe we could just do different states but I like the thought of going somewhere outside the US.

This is seriously so badass!! Way to go you crazy runners. In my area there is this group called “half fanatics” and you get to become a member if you complete a minimum of two half marathons within two weeks, so needless to say you’d be above the minimum requirement! One of these days I’ll become a member. ;)

GOOD JOB!!!! I HAD this goal for last weekend (a half in Ohio and a half the next day in Pennsylvania), but stupid knee injury killed my training…I’m still keeping this a goal though for next year!
How did you train???